


Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts

by Reptilia



Category: Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Archie Andrews Being an Idiot, Childhood Friends, F/M, First Love, Getting Back Together, Jug gets his girl back, Kevin Keller is a Good Friend, Mutual Pining, Southside Serpent Jughead Jones, Toni Topaz is a Good Friend, high school is hell
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:01:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22455373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reptilia/pseuds/Reptilia
Summary: Jughead and Betty were destined to be together.Or at least everyone thought so when they were kids, now that they’ve grown up they’re not so sure.High school was about the time when everything started going to shit.At first, it hurt a lot. But time passes, and now most of the wounds have healed.He goes to a different school and they haven’t spoken in three years.Something is about to change that.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 9
Kudos: 35





	1. Blame it on my youth

Jughead and Betty were destined to be together.

Or at least everyone thought so when they were kids, now that they’ve grown up they’re not so sure.

Two childhood best friends that ended up straying from each other: it happens often, but it does not mean that it doesn’t hurt.

They used to be as close as two souls can be, always together since the age of six, when they first met in primary school.  
When this encounter happened, they were still too young to realize how much impact it would have later in life. They didn’t have a care in the world, as every six-year-old should. The friendship between them clicked straight away, they were both very smart for their age and they were the only kids in their grade who could already read and write. They bonded over shared awkwardness and their love for books.

Betty helped Jughead with math.

Jughead shared his food with Betty.

They had a wonderful dynamic that worked perfectly.

They talked a lot, even during class, even if they were well-behaved kids. They still were at the top of all their classes despite their behavior, especially the blonde, somehow, who always got the highest grades.

Over the years, they gained the reputation of troublemakers for the weirdest things. For example, in third grade they found out who was stealing lunch from the kids backpacks (spoiler: it was Dilton Doiley) but in doing so they also basically trashed the school hall, running after their guilty classmate who was holding way too many snacks for his own good.

Once they even carried out a full-on investigation on the new music teacher just because she wasn’t very nice to the students, and also because they thought it would be fun to do so. That landed them in a lot of trouble, but they eventually got the upper-hand of the situation and she got fired.

He was mostly the one who got them in trouble, and she was the one who got them out of it. Even at eight years old she played the devil’s advocate very well, and most of the time she managed to avoid punishment for them both.

This continued all through-out primary and middle school, and growing up, they grew even closer and depended on each other even more.

At the age of eleven they hung out with each other so much that if you saw one, you could be sure that the other one couldn’t be too far, because they could not be apart for too long without feeling like something was missing.

When they started hanging out, most of the time it was at Betty’s house, because it was cozy and warm and someone would always cook something healthy for them. In middle school they began going outside more, spending sunny afternoons at Pickens Park, laughing and pretending to study.

They tended to avoid Jughead’s house because of obvious reasons. His dad wasn’t exactly the perfect parent, he usually wasn’t home, but when he was he couldn’t totally be trusted to act like a responsible adult. Of course, even if he was just a kid he was aware of the fact that he lived a slightly different life from the one his classmates and Betty had. Living in the Southside in a trailer wasn’t exactly easy. But Betty understood.

They had been brought up from totally different backgrounds, but that didn’t stop them from being _the best pals_.

They could count on each other. Always.

Or at least until high school.

***

Betty grew up to be an adorable young woman, she always dressed like a doll, and also looked like one. Long ponytail and short skirts, with legs for days in knee-high black socks. According to Jughead, she was the definition of perfect. Unlike him, who always looked like he had just got up on the wrong side of the bed.

When it first started, high school between them looked just like it used to be in middle school: hanging out a lot, helping each other out, plus the occasional shenanigans when they had to explain that they were _not_ , in fact, together. Teenagers tended to gossip a lot.

Besides some small changes, like the fact that he was starting to realize that he was probably in love with her (and he should’ve seen it coming because everyone else did), high school was kinda nice.

High school was also about the time when everything started going to shit.

Because sometime during high school, Jughead got suspended because of something that Reggie Mantle did. And that was when he realized that despite everything, despite trying to fit in everytime he felt like an outcast, trying to make compromises in order to maintain the appearances… all of that didn’t matter. It didn’t matter because deep down everyone still saw him as the weird Southside kid that didn’t even deserve having a life in the Northside.

He got blamed for something that he didn’t do.

Classic move, pointing the finger towards someone that cannot defend themselves. When it happened, and the realization dawned on him, he felt helpless. And all of a sudden he didn’t belong there anymore.

He always had been the weirdo, but he had become the scapegoat.

It didn’t felt right. Fortunately, it didn’t last long either.

He transferred schools a week later.

***

Life in the Southside is very different.

For starters, he doesn’t have to fake being someone he is not, because nobody here cares about the way you look or act, as long as you aren’t a total asshole.

Looking back now, he doesn’t know why he was so afraid at first. At least here he can be himself, without worrying too much about judgment.

Also, considering his ineptitude in social matters, he unexpectedly made friends pretty easily.

Now he’s been here for a while, a little more than three years, and he knows that this is where he belongs. He feels it in his beanie, and it never lies.

A lot has changed since he first set foot in this school. To begin with, he is a lot taller than he used to be, and even if he is still getting used to his gangly figure (with legs that are _way too long_ to possibly be handled with grace) he believes that he is managing quite well. He also has a surprising amount of free time that he spends writing, but oh, when he is not writing he hangs out with his gang. That’s right folks, Jughead Jones is in a _biker gang_.

If you told that to his eight year old self he wouldn’t have believed you.  
But he is, and has been for a long time now.

He joined only a few weeks after transferring schools, mainly because of two reasons: one, he needed some friends, two, some of the guys at school looked real shady and sure as hell he wasn’t going to risk getting beaten up. Mind you, when he joined the Serpents he was a bit shorter than he is now, and didn’t have _these_ broad shoulders. Still, it’s nice knowing that someone has his back at all times.

Anyway, he is pretty proud of how he’s been doing, and he doesn’t regret it a single bit. Well, maybe a small bit?

To be completely honest, sometimes he still feels like Betty Cooper and him will, eventually, end up together. That somehow it will finally happen, and then they would live happily ever after. Unfortunately, this can’t be.

They haven’t spoken in three years.

When he left Riverdale High, he never looked back.

And in doing so, he left his best friend behind. Scratch that, not only his best friend, but _the girl he loved_ for most of his life.

Betty Cooper was supposed to be his high school sweetheart, for heaven's sake. He would have taken her to prom, dressed like a proper gentleman, and they would have kissed deeply and they would have been the best couple that the city had ever seen.

Sometimes he wants to mentally kick himself thinking about what he did.

It was for a good cause, sure, but at what cost?

When he left, initially, they still hung out whenever it was possible. She wasn’t happy with the situation, even if she masked it well to make him feel better. Even when she was devastated she constantly tried to cheer him up. So what? If they were going to see each other only on the weekends, they were going to make the most of it and have as much fun as possible.

It worked for a month or so.

Then they started drifting apart.

It was inevitable, they were used to see each other every day and suddenly they didn’t even attend the same school. Between Betty’s extracurriculars and Jughead trying to survive on his own, there wasn’t much time left to spare. They enjoyed it anyway, with a side of dissatisfaction every time they said goodbye.

Something started to bother him only when he saw that, apparently, she was doing well by herself at school.

Not hanging out with the weirdo kid anymore, people suddenly started talking to her and being friends with her instead of just giving her some casual nods and smiles. She was alone now, and she confessed to the boy how she felt about it: she had always spent her time with him and now that he was gone she suddenly didn’t know what to do. Now she had to find new lab partners, study-buddies and maybe even someone that she could sit with at lunch, and to be honest she didn’t know how to do that. It didn’t really matter though, because people started hanging out with her soon enough, with her barely realizing it. She didn’t even have to make the effort.

She was a nice person, and people started to notice that when her time wasn’t entirely taken up by Jughead’s presence anymore.

With her nice flowy hair and kind manners, whenever she walked into the lunchroom and started looking around for a place, multiple people from different tables greeted her and invited her to sit with them.

As it turns out, Betty Cooper was amazing at making friends.

Now whenever they talked, she constantly ranted about how _incredible_ Archie Andrews was, and how _inexplicably funny_ was sheriff Keller’s son. Everyone she met was remarkable somehow, and Betty praised them endlessly, telling him countless stories about what happened on Monday in biology. He didn’t really care and he felt bad about it.

He listened but at the same time, with every word she spoke, he felt himself drifting and floating a million miles away. He was already too far from her universe. He no longer had a role in all of that. It was too late.

It didn’t matter.

He eventually started feeling like he couldn’t measure up anymore. He figured that he probably had his chance to go after Betty Cooper a long time ago, but he didn’t do it. He was too young and too afraid of ruining their friendship.

Besides, he always got her in trouble somehow. And he couldn’t yet explain to himself how could she still bear with him after all he put her through. In fact, as her mother said once, he was just a nuisance keeping her from being the perfect daughter. The perfect student. The perfect human being that Betty Cooper beyond doubt was.

He was a bad seed after all. And he had nothing to do with that ideal spotless world of rosy cheeks, unicorns and fresh pecan pie that his friend lived in.

He couldn’t deny to himself that he loved her.

But to keep her out of trouble, he had to stay away.

Maybe distance was for the better.

Maybe Betty was truly better off without him.

  
***

At first, it hurt a lot. But now it has been a few years, and most of the wounds have healed. Sure, sometimes he still thinks about it, but it is a closed chapter of his life.  
At this very moment, he doesn’t want to think about it.


	2. Crimson and Clover

“Closed down?” exclaimed Toni raising a suspicious eyebrow. “Why?”

“Finally!” Grinned Sweet Pea, giving a loud high five to Fangs.

They were standing outside the main gates of Southside High, their high school, doors now completely covered in police tape.

“Stop thinking about conspiracies Toni, you know they had to” said Jughead shrugging. “This school has been temporary since the 70s, it looks like it's made of paper! Isn’t it better this way? Maybe they will finally put us in a building with real walls.”

“It looks fine to me. I guess I am just emotionally attached to this place. It’s hell, but I like it.” replied Toni with a hint of melancholy in her voice.

“Anyway, it’s not like they are transferring us in any new buildings,” said Sweet Pea, causing a confused looks on the other’s faces.“Hey, what did you expect, for them to build a _new_ school for Southside scum? Nah.”

To be honest no one expected that, but still, it was news.

“They assigned us to a few different schools. Scattering us is the less damaging option for them. Some will have to go to Greendale, others to _fucks-know-where_. Luckily, the four of us are still stuck together.”

“Oh” said Toni, sounding eager. “And pray tell, where are we headed to?”

Sweet Pea smirked. “Riverdale High.”

***

“Hey, calm down. Take a deep breath.” Toni tried to reason with him.

“What the hell Toni? How am I supposed to calm down? Have you not heard? They placed us in the _fucking Northside_. That’s where I got kicked out from, remember?” cried out Jughead. “Why the hell would I be happy to go back _there._ ”

Toni rolled her eyes for the millionth time. “It’s not the end of the world, Jug.”

“Riverdale High is literally fucking hell,” he continued, paying no attention to what she just said. “Everyone is so stuck up and _so arrogant_ , almost as if they have a broom up their asses all the time, always looking down on others and judging.”

“This is gonna be so bad Toni,” he insisted. “Nothing good can come out of this, trust me.” He felt himself hyperventilating.

Just the thought of going back made him want to puke. There was a reason why he left that place behind, in fact, there were _many_ reasons. So many reasons why he shouldn’t go back to his old school. He couldn’t even begin to count them.

Suddenly he felt like he was fourteen again and everyone was pointing their finger at him. What if nothing had changed? What was he going to do? He didn’t want to live that nightmare all over again. And what about the football team? They were probably still mad at him. He couldn’t fight the entire football team, could he? And what if-

“Hey,” said Toni stopping his train of thoughts. “Nothing bad is going to happen. I’ll be there. We will all be there with you, and we will make sure that everything goes well. You are going to be fine.”

“You’re not the same kid you were at fourteen, Jug. People change.” She comforted him, gently touching his shoulder. “Besides, you’re with the Serpents now. Do you really think that they are going to mess with you?”

He was so busy worrying about everything else that he hadn’t thought about that. He didn’t even recall the fact that he had, indeed, changed. He figured he could probably take Reggie Mantle now. He was still scrawny, but he wasn’t as small as he used to be.

“You hadn’t thought about that, did you?” she giggled. “You’re six foot tall, for fuck’s sake! You wear a leather jacket and ride a motorcycle, if you think that anybody would be willing to fight you at sight, you’re _freaking wrong_ my dude.”

“I guess you’re right,” he mumbled. “I’m glad that I can always count on you guys.”

“Anyway, it’s not like you have a choice,” said Toni. “What? If I have to go there and put up with all those northsiders, you’re definitely coming with me in order to make it bearable.”

He smiled. “I guess being scared of that place is just an old habit. I’ll be fine.”

“Not gonna lie though,” Toni smirked. “I’m going to enjoy their snobby shocked faces when they see you walking through that door.”

“Yeah.” He laughed. “I’m looking forward to that too.”

***

It’s only eight in the morning at Riverdale High when hell breaks loose.

Betty is minding her own business, tidying up her locker. School started three weeks ago and she’s already being messy. How could she put English next to Calculus when the covers colors don’t even go well together? What was she thinking?

This school year she is determined to do better than ever. It’s her senior year and she is clearly not going to waste it.

She already has excellent grades, runs the school’s newspaper and is a cheerleader. This year she’s thinking about maybe adding Debate? She tried competing with the track team last year but she found it difficult, she is hoping she got better over the summer in order to keep up.

She does not want to fail. She can’t fail.

If colleges want a long list of impressive extracurriculars, that’s what they are going to get. Betty Cooper doesn’t disappoint.

“Hey, beautiful” Archie greets her with a forehead kiss.

“Good morning to you too” she kisses him back, this time with a proper kiss.

They’ve been dating for a little more than two years now. Archie Andrews is probably what everyone imagines a high school heartthrob to look like. Between his broad shoulders and red hair, every girl can be swept off her feet. To be completely honest, it wasn’t strange that he was considered the most popular guy at school. He was the captain of the football team and was somehow always involved in every party that they threw. His good looks and beautiful girlfriend only contributed to his popularity.

No one was very surprised when they started dating.

After all, it was only a matter of time before Mr. Popularity asked the blonde cheerleader out. People always saw them sitting together at lunch, laughing and touching hands, so they started assuming that they were together. 

At the time, they actually weren’t. But with so many people presuming that they were, they started to wonder if _maybe_ becoming a couple wasn’t such a bad idea.

It had been a smooth transition, from friends to boyfriend-and-girlfriend within the matter of days. Their friend Kevin hadn’t been so convinced at first, but he eventually accepted it and now it had become ordinary.

“What’ve you got in first period?” asked Archie, caressing her hair.

“History, but I’m skipping it because I have to show some new students around school.” She started fidgeting with her hair.

“New students? Now? At this time of the year?” He looked perplexed.

“Yeah I know. Weird.” She agreed. “Still, Wheaterbee asked me to chaperone, and you know me, I never turn down an occasion to show my mad knowledge of the school ground.” She beamed.

“Sure, love.” Archie smiled back. “Let me know how it goes.”

He gave her another small peck and turned to head towards class.

He stopped right in his tracks when some people near the entrance gasped and started whispering while they were looking out.

Cheryl Blossom stormed through the door, looking disgusted.

“Definitely not happening,” she hissed. “My father will hear about this.”

And with that dooming sentence she left the hall, mumbling to herself.

Everyone was still wondering what she meant, when suddenly the doors opened again.

The Serpents walked in.

***

“Is that Jughead Jones or am I hallucinating?” Kevin Keller had just appeared out of nowhere, now standing at Betty’s side, curiously looking just like everyone else. People started murmuring animatedly.

In front of them stood in all their leather-fueled glory the group of new students, all of them wearing without exception a Southside Serpents jacket. Among them, a certain beanie that she could have recognized anywhere.

“I- I’m pretty sure that’s him, Kev. Oh my god.” She was now frozen in place, eyes following the black combat boots and flannel vision in front of her.

Jughead was looking around the hall smirking, as if he was savoring the complete chaos that his entrance had caused.

“Thank god you see them too,” Kevin exulted. “I was beginning to think that my coffee had been laced with something this morning.”

Their eyes were still fixed on the group, having not yet processed what was happening. Students started heading towards class, still whispering and still very much shocked.

Betty couldn’t physically move. It felt like time had stopped.

Jughead was a lot taller than she remembered. His unruly black hair was kept in place by his signature beanie, but some locks had escaped and she couldn’t help but notice the way that they curled gracefully on his forehead. A pair of suspenders hung on his waist over his dark jeans.

“I don’t know what the hell is going on,” said Kevin, interrupting her contemplation. “But I can already taste the drama, and I’m living for it!”

Betty didn’t reply. Why was Jughead Jones standing there? Why was he back at school? So many unanswered questions started dancing around her head.

“Girl, hate to interrupt,” acknowledged the boy. “But I think they noticed your staring.”

A small girl with pink hair started heading towards her. Betty panicked.

“Hi,” she smiled when she reached them “are you by any chance Elizabeth Cooper, alias the girl who’s supposed to show us around?”

They shook hands. “Yes, that’s me.” Betty forced herself to smile.

“Name’s Toni Topaz,” she said. “Care to lead the way?”

“Of course,” replied Betty, having finally found the strength to recompose herself after the shock.

She clutched her books to her chest, and smiled at the girl.

When she looked up, she found that Jughead had his gaze fixed on her.

Seeing that smirk, everyone that knew him well enough could tell what was going on in his head at that very moment.

If he had to go back to Riverdale High again, at least this time around he was going to have fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this is the first real chapter of this story.  
> I'm not really good at writing dialogue as you can probably tell lol :)  
> Thank you for the kind comments on the prologue!  
> Sorry for updating so soon with a short chapter, but I couldn't resist!  
> Hope you are enjoying it


	3. When I come around

“Fuck, Kev. What am I going to do?” _Betty Cooper is swearing, the end of the world must be near_ , the boy thought. She looked exhausted.

They were looking at football practice from the bleachers. Betty always waited for Archie to finish so that they could walk home together, most of the time she just chatted with Kevin in the meantime or studied. That day she was too worn out to study.

“Damn, girl. You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I did, actually,” She replied. “Jughead Jones just walked right back into my life out of nowhere.”

“You say that like it’s bad thing.” He teased her.

If there was one thing that Kevin Keller knew for sure, it was that he had never seen someone look so in love as he had seen Betty Cooper during their first year of high school. At the time she was clearly in love with her bestfriend, and Kevin knew for sure because he had been the one comforting her when Jughead disappeared.

“We haven’t spoken to each other in three years, Kev. _Three years_.” She looked frustrated, like something was upsetting her.

He had never voiced his thoughts to her, but he suspected that Jughead’s escaping out of the blue without warning had caused a severe case of lingering feelings in Betty. They stopped being friends without proper closure and yes, with time she eventually buried her emotions deep down, but Kevin Keller _knew_ that they could resurface at any moment now. You don’t just stop talking to the person you love and hope to move on quickly, humans don’t work like that.

“So what? It’s true, you two haven’t spoken in a long time, but he just reappeared at school, didn’t he?” he said, referring to the Serpents' grand entrance that morning. “This just might be your chance to change that.”

“Be realistic, Keller. He doesn’t want to talk to me or he would’ve reached to me a long time ago.” She moped.

“I don’t know about that, teenage boys tend to be pretty stupid and stubborn.” He asserted.

“You’re a teenage boy.” She reminded him.

“I’m gay it doesn’t count.” He shrugged. “If you have the chance to restore this friendship I say that you should take it.”

“I’m not sure this is a good idea…” she objected.

“No Betty, listen to me, it’s a _great_ idea.” He assured her.

She doubted her friend could be any more obvious than that. She knew that Kevin somehow still doubted of her being totally over Jughead, but she couldn’t believe that he was still trying to convince her even after all these years. She knew herself, thank you very much, and she couldn’t possibly still have feelings for the guy, could she? Especially considering how he just left her behind unannounced. She liked to believe she still had some dignity left in her.

“Trust me, this is going to be great,” continued Kevin. “Bonus points to you: he got hot.”

At this point she just glared at him, not even wanting to comment that.

“Come on, Betty! You have eyes. Dark and broody biker-dude vibe suits him. I’ve seen you looking at him, so don’t lie.” He added.

Betty looked like she wanted to change topic as quickly as possible. “He looks nice I guess. It doesn’t matter, I’m with Archie now.”

“Whatever you say. But may I just point out that your _first_ concern was that he wouldn’t want you back, only after that you thought about the fact that you have a boyfriend.” He informed her, looking smug.

Betty was fuming and just about to reply when their conversation got interrupted by none other than Archie Andrews.

“Hey, what are you two talking about?” he was all sweaty in his football jersey, having just stopped running.

“Nothing!” they exclaimed in unison.

“Nothing interesting, Arch.” She smiled at him, kind of faking it.

“Sure.” Archie didn’t look convinced but dropped the subject anyway. “Keller, you’re not considering trying out for my team this year?”

“Brutally tackling down people and risking ruining my perfect hair? Uh thanks, but no thanks.” He looked horrified at the idea.

“Whatever. You would do great by the way, you’re in great shape.” He patted his shoulder, Kevin winced. “I have to go talk to Reggie, catch you guys later.” And with that, he left.

When the redhead turned his back on them and started jogging, Kevin tried to contain a laugh.

“What?” Betty was beginning to get annoyed.

“Just… really?” Kevin kept laughing.

Betty glared at him once again.

“Nothing interesting, _Arch_.” He mocked her. “We were totally _not_ talking about my ex boyfriend that just returned to school.”

“Oh, shut up!” Betty is shocked beyond explanation. “Archie gets jealous easily, I didn’t want to risk it.”

She got lost in her thoughts for a second. “Besides, we were never really together, so technically he’s not my ex.” She pointed out.

Kevin grinned. “Whatever you want to tell yourself.”

***

“This school is fucking nuts.” Simply stated Sweet Pea.

The Serpents decided to meet outside school in a not very frequented area, in order to avoid other students as much as they could. They agreed to meet there over text, because they most definitely needed a break from this new reality they were being shoved into. It was all very sudden and they had yet to get accustomed.

“Tell me about it.” said Jughead looking smug. “How have you been?”

“They kept looking at us for the whole day as if we were aliens or something.” Said Fangs, looking bewildered. “In second period I could swear that a girl took a picture of me with her phone.”

“What? That’s absurd.” replied Toni, kind of messing with him. “I myself have been better, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

They all looked at her, not totally convinced.

“This morning was pretty nice.” She explained. “Elizabeth showed us around and helped us with our schedule. She seemed ok.”

“About that, Jug. You didn’t come with us for the school tour and honestly? It was ok, but it would have been _a lot_ funnier if you had been there commenting everything.” Said Fangs.

“I know right?” he sighed. “It made sense that they didn’t sign me up for it, though. Since I used to be a student here and all that. In fact, I know this place so well that I could have given you the tour myself. It would have been specifically studied to suit your needs, even.” Jughead bragged. “For example, I could have shown to Sweet Pea where he can smoke without getting caught.”

“Can’t you just tell me that without including a tour, asshat?” Sweet Pea complained, raising an eyebrow.

“Nah I don’t think I will. Especially not after that crude vocabulary you just used on me.” He declared. Sweet Pea scoffed, looking a bit frustrated.

“Still, Elizabeth was lovely with us.” Toni declared, as if she was pleasantly surprised.

Jughead nodded. “Yeah, she’s probably the only person here that doesn’t hate us. She knows that the Serpents are more like a large family than an actual gang. She understands and she won’t judge.”

“Wait,” said Toni, looking confused “that’s _Betty_? Elizabeth Cooper is _your_ _Betty_?”

“Well, yeah?” he confirmed.

She looked baffled. “Dude! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought you had it figured out” he said, dodging her punch. “I mean, how many Bettys do you think live in Riverdale?”

“I don’t know! It’s been so long since you last told me about her, I didn’t even connect those two things.” She supposed.

“Please, care to stop and explain to us?” Sweet Pea spoke on behalf of himself and Fangs.

“Yeah, I’m confused right now man.” Fangs muttered under his breath. “Who is this chick again?”

“Betty is Jughead’s dream girlfriend!” Toni chimed in, grinning.

“Was. She _was_ my girlfr― I mean, I had a bit of a crush on her. When I was fourteen.” He blurted out quickly.

“Aw, you’re adorable.” Sweet Pea sneered. “She’s a hottie, I can totally see why you liked her.”

Jughead pushed him. “Shut up you pervert, and stop objectifying my childhood friend.”

“He’s right though.” Smirked Toni. “She’s very pretty. Also, I kind of expected her to be more… I don’t know, like you? She looks a bit preppy.”

Jughead shot her a death glare.

“I don’t mean that as a bad thing! It suits her.” She explained herself quickly. “She’s a sweetheart.”

“Why didn’t you come with us then? I mean, you could have spoken to her at least.” Inquired Fangs.

Jughead shrugged. “I wouldn’t have known what to say, to be honest.”

“I thought you just said she was your childhood friend?”

“Yeah she was, but we haven’t spoken in a long time.” He admitted.

“What happened?”

“We fell out.” The tone of his voice made it clear that it was a difficult topic for him to talk about.

“He’s lying.” Said Toni. Jughead looked at her in disbelief. “Hey, you know it’s true.”

“ _Yes_ , but I didn’t expect you to betray me like this.” He groaned.

“Tough luck, big boy. Accept reality.” She said. “It was mostly _your_ fault.”

“I know, I fucked up as usual.” He confessed. “At the time I thought it would be best for the both of us if we went our separate ways.”

“But, you can make it up to her now,” stated Toni. “You could use the opportunity of being here at Riverdale High as an excuse to win her back. Besides, with so many people not very keen on accepting us, it would be nice to have a friend.”

“You’re right, Toni.” Jughead replied. “We could really use someone we can trust and she seems the most likely candidate at the moment.”

“If putting it that way makes it less awkward for you, sure.” She smiled.

“Sorry to interrupt your big strategy to win back your ex girlfriend but could we just talk for a minute about what we are going to do now that we’re here?” asked Sweet Pea.

“You’re right Sweet Pea, we should totally come up with a plan.” he declared. “But just for the record, Betty and I were never together so technically she’s not my ex.” They all rolled their eyes at that.

Toni tried to redirect the conversation. “So, we observed that so far no one except Betty Cooper has been nice towards us. We were expecting it, but still…”

“I think that’s because nobody expected us, to be honest,” said Fangs. “It looked like no one told them we’d be here today.”

“Makes sense. My guess is that they didn’t warn them because their parents would have filed complaints days before we even set foot into the school,” declared Jughead. “But then they wouldn’t have known where to place us, it would have caused a lot of problems. Not warning anyone gave the school board some time to think about possible excuses or solutions.”

“So… is this not permanent?” asked Sweet Pea.

Jughead tried to contain a smirk. “On the contrary SP, I think we can be sure that we will graduate here.”

“Come on Sherlock, spill and don’t keep us waiting!” groaned Toni.

“While you kids were busy having a free tour of the school, I had a lovely little chat with the principal...”

“Wait… _why_ on earth did you went to speak to the principal?” questioned Toni.

“It was actually Weatherbee that called me to his office, and not the other way round,” he explained. “I think he wanted to make sure that I wasn’t going to pull one of my stunts anywhere near his school.”

“Sounds very welcoming and happy to have you back.” She said sarcastically.

“I kind of fucked a lot of shit up the last time I was here so I’m not that much surprised.” He shrugged.

“They still consider you a threat after all these years? What did you even do that was so bad?” asked Sweet Pea.

“Did a few hundreds dollars worth of damage. Completely smashed the football’s team Hall of Fame.” Jughead recalled. “Not one of my best moments.”

Sweet Pea didn’t look very impressed. “That’s it?”

“I also set it on fire.” He added.

“So? Need I remind you that the first time you came by my house you _made my tv explode_?” he said. “And _we’re still friends_.”

“You said it was already broken when I arrived!”

“It wasn’t, but whatever. My point is: breaking shit on accident? That’s just classic Jughead Jones.” He declared. “But doing it on purpose? Doesn’t sound like you at all.”

Jughead stayed silent, not sure what his friend was aiming at.

“I’m not judging by the way, they probably deserved it.” He underlined. “But I know you, and I’m not sure if you’re telling us the whole truth.”

“Yes? Probably? The truth is not important right now. I was the one who got blamed for it. End of the story.” Jughead asserted, looking at his friends. “And I don’t want you three going on a social justice crusade for me about something that happened three years ago. We have to lay low.” He instructed.

They didn’t reply, understanding their friend’s situation. He took that as an unspoken agreement that they would not bring up that subject again.

“Anyway. While I was in the principal’s office he mentioned that Southside High closed down because it has to be demolished, and the owner of the land has plans to build something new there. That’s why they had to get rid of us so quickly. Weatherbee has his hands on this new project, participating in a little quote. He obviously wants it to work out well, and that’s why he was so willing to accept us in his school. He had to, in order to finalize the contract as fast as possible.”

Toni looked impressed and a bit concerned. “Now, who’s the one who sees conspiracies everywhere, uh?”

Jughead nodded in approval at her words, admitting she had been right about the sudden closure of their school. “Long story short, he is a shady dude and I’m pretty sure he hates me, but he will let us stay here until graduation if it means less trouble in business for him.”

“This is… a lot to take in.” said Fangs. “So, we will basically have to deal with the fact that _no one_ wants us here, including the principal, but he has to keep us, because it wouldn’t be financially convenient for him if he didn’t?”

Sweet Pea grimaced. “Told you this place was fucking nuts.”

“Totally agreed.” Said Toni.

They looked at each other for a moment with wary glances. They were stuck in hostile territory, and they would have to deal with that until the end of the school year in order to survive.

“We have to be cautious. Always look out for anything strange that might happen and stay away from trouble. Especially you two!” said Toni, glancing at Jughead and Sweet Pea. “Most importantly, we have to avoid bothering people as much as possible. They already don’t want us here for no apparent reason, we don’t want to give them a valid one.”

“All of this already feels insane to me, and I’ve been going to Riverdale High for a day.” Said Fangs, looking tired.

“Yeah well, they have toilet paper in the bathrooms so I’m definitely staying.” Said Toni. “But we have to stick to the plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kevin Keller has a soulmate radar and you can't tell me otherwise. He been knew that Bughead is endgame.  
> I love Sweet Pea and I hope I'm doing him justice.  
> Hope you are enjoying it!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked this :) X  
> Feel free to comment and review this, English is not my first language and I'm still learning.  
> Feedback would be nice!


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